


Promise

by Irelando



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, all aboard the rook family feels train, bodhi rook appreciation week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 19:38:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10703739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irelando/pseuds/Irelando
Summary: What feels like an eternity later, the door hisses open to reveal his sister, her arms folded across her chest. It’s hard to make out her face in the dim predawn light, but her eyes widen slightly at the sight of him. Then narrow. “It’s been a while.”(for Bodhi appreciation week day six: family)





	Promise

When he lands on Jedha, Bodhi has every intention of going straight to the temple. He doesn’t know if Saw Gerrera and his men will show at all – wouldn’t blame them if they were too wary of a hastily-encoded message from an Imperial pilot to risk it – but if they do, they probably won’t hang around for long. He has to be there if and when they show up, or he’ll fail this mission before it even gets started.

It seems his feet have other ideas. Bodhi drags himself out of the cloud of worry and misgivings to find himself on a very familiar doorstep.

He rocks back and forth, hesitating. If his message was intercepted, he’s almost certainly being followed. If Galen Erso had second thoughts, or got caught and broken, it’s only a matter of time before the Empire comes down hard on Bodhi. There’s a _reason_ he hasn’t spoken to his family since he left for pilot training, even if he didn’t know what that reason was for a while.

But he doesn’t think that distance will be enough to protect them from this. Once the Empire realizes what he’s done, what he and Galen Erso are trying to do, they’ll come down hard on anyone who shares his blood. Not to mention that Jedha itself is about to become even more of a war zone than it already is.

It takes a full minute to work up the courage, but eventually Bodhi raises a hand and raps sharply on the door. _Come on, Kaia, you always were an early riser…_

What feels like an eternity later, the door hisses open to reveal his sister, her arms folded across her chest. It’s hard to make out her face in the dim predawn light, but her eyes widen slightly at the sight of him. Then narrow. “It’s been a while.”

“I know,” Bodhi says, his chest tight. He didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome, but the hint of suspicion around her eyes might just about kill him. “I’m sorry. Kaia—“

And then her arms are around him, hugging him tightly to her. Bodhi stiffens for an instant in surprise, then sags in relief, wrapping his arms around his sister’s familiar form.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” she says, then pulls back to take a look at him, the suspicion now fully replaced with concern. “Bodhi, are you okay? You look—“

“I’m fine,” he says hurriedly. He’s not, but he doesn’t have time to explain that. “Listen, Kaia, you need to take Mom and get off planet.”

Kaia’s eyes widen. “What? Why?”

He glances over his shoulder. The street is deserted. Or at least seems to be. “I can’t… Look, I can’t explain it. There’s no time.” He turns back to her. “Please, Kaia. Trust me on this. You need to go, _now_. Today. The earliest shuttle you can get.”

“And go where?” she asks.

“Anywhere,” he says. “Anywhere that’s not here.”

“Bodhi, I don’t know—“ But she cuts herself off, eyes searching his face. “Okay,” she says quietly. “Okay, let me go get Mom, and we’ll go right now.” She starts to turn, and hesitates. “Wait. What about you?”

Bodhi manages a weak smile. “I have… something I have to do first.”

Kaia looks at him for a long moment. “That sounds a hell of a lot like a ‘goodbye’.”

He looks away, down the street again. He’s always been an awful liar, and Kaia can see right through him. “It might be,” he admits. “I hope it isn’t, but…”

“Make sure it isn’t,” she says firmly. He looks back at her, just in time for her to reach up and put one hand on each cheek. It startles him every time to realize she’s shorter than him; in his head, Kaia will always be his _big_ sister. “You wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t important,” she says, “But I swear, Bodhi Rook, if you don’t come back after this I will find you in the Force and kick your scrawny little butt.”

He lets out a startled laugh, leaning down to press his forehead against hers. “I’ll try, Kaia. I promise.”

\--

Bodhi’s shoulders-deep in the underside of the X-wing he’s attempting to fix when he hears pounding footsteps, growing louder and louder. They’re a little uneven, with the trace remains of a limp. He knows that cadence.

He pushes himself out from under the ship just in time for Cassian to skid to a stop beside him, panting heavily. The Major is in a rare state of disarray, and he favors his side as he bends over to try and catch his breath.

“I thought you were in meetings all day,” Bodhi says, confused and a little concerned. The medics say Cassian’s mostly healed, but Bodhi’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to be sprinting halfway across the base.

“I was,” Cassian says once he catches his breath, straightening up and digging in his jacket pocket. “But this is more important. I finally heard back from my sources, and—“ he produces a small data stick, holding it up triumphantly. “Your family. They’re alive.”

It takes an extra second for the words to penetrate. When they do, Bodhi staggers back, catching himself on the X-wing’s nose. “They—you—I can’t believe it,” he stammers.

Cassian smiles. “They’re on Tatooine. All the data is here; what names they’re using, when they got off of Jedha, everything. I didn’t want to make you dig through it when I could just tell you.”

Bodhi takes the data stick in numb fingers, eyes flickering back and forth between it and Cassian’s face. “I don’t… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“You don’t need to,” Cassian says. “I was happy to help.”

Bodhi’s fingers tighten around the data stick. He dithers for a moment – Cassian’s already done a great deal, not to mention called in several favors, to find out this much, but he did promise. “Could you… I need to let them know I’m alive.”

Cassian doesn’t miss a beat. “Getting to them might be difficult. But, maybe we could—“

“No,” Bodhi says hastily. “I don’t want to put them in danger. Just, maybe—a message? A coded message?”

The Major tilts his head, considering. “Yeah,” he says, “That could work.” He thinks a moment more, then nods. “Just let me know when you have it ready, and I’ll make it happen.”

“Thank you,” Bodhi says fervently.

Cassian just smiles. He glances at the chrono on the wall and winces. “Uh-oh. I’d better go before Draven sends somebody to find me.” He pauses long enough to grip Bodhi’s shoulder, then limps away.

Bodhi watches him go, holding the data stick loosely in one hand, and smiles. It’s kind of funny, he thinks as he turns back to the X-wing, that the family he found on Scarif helped him find the family he left behind on Jedha.

He’s glad to find there’s room enough in the galaxy for both.


End file.
